1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of exercise enhancing devices and particularly to a device for increasing the water resistance to body limb movement to enhance muscle exercise activities.
2. Background Art
Many individuals simply prefer to workout or physically exercise in a swimming pool or other aquatic environment. Other persons are limited, for various reasons, to this type of physical workout.
Aquatic exercise enhancing devices are known. The disclosed apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,759 include both arm and leg attached devices which can be exercised alone or in any desired combination. The devices were pneumatically inflated for use which rendered them extremely buoyant when submerged and somewhat difficult to control. The inexpensive lightweight inflatable construction was not particularly durable and because of the buoyancy factor, they were unsuitable for certain exercises as they would assist rather than resist the exercise movement of certain muscles. While the inflation pressure could control to some degree the water resistance to movement of the device, such enhanced resistance was essentially uniform for movement in any direction which limited the ability to focus on development or exercise of a specific muscle or group of muscles. Such exercise enhancing devices serve an entirely different purpose and function from swimming aids such as foot attached flippers for increasing the effectiveness of leg kicks during swimming.
Other swimming aid devices for increasing the effectiveness of the user's swimming effort are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,526 to Ausseil discloses an attachment for placing on either the forearm or the leg and is formed of a pair of fins disposed at angles to each other. One of the fins serves as a rudder while the other fin acts to oppose movement of the limb. This provides greater stability and increases the effectiveness of the propelling stroke of the users while swimming.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,140,107 discloses a swimming aid device which also fits over the forearm and is gripped by the user's hand. Other prior art also discloses swimming aid arrangements which are attached to the hands or lower leg of the person swimming. Examples of such arrangement are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,231,646 to Pyros; 2,017,463 to Komadina; and 2,078,068 to Eustis.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,447 to Lavallee discloses a swimming accessory having an aperture therethrough which is hinged to the base in order that the aperture is closed during a positive stroke and then which swings open to reduce the negative water action on the retraction stroke. Such device is designed for attachment to the forearm as is the swim paddle of U.S. Pat. No. Des. 262,477 to Lewis.
A number of swimming aids are disclosed for use on the hand of the swimmer. Such devices may be attached by the use of straps of various types but all are in employed to increase the effective area of water against which the swimmer pushes while the swimmer propels himself through the water. Examples of such hand attached swimming elements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,698,026 to Buntin; 3,529,313 to Girden; and 3,417,415 to Kozak. Other examples of such swimming aid devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,290,943 Conley; 2,810,138 Cochran; and 3,328,812 Berthiot.
Devices for attachment to the side of a pool to support an individual in the pool are known. In Sanderson U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,012, a support device for the head of person swimming is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,123 discloses a detachable boat boarding apparatus to assist a swimmer from the water.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved aquatic exerciser device.
It is another object to provide an aquatic exercise device that may be selectively employed to develop certain muscles or groups of muscles.